Page 4 - Outstanding Teachers: Changing Lives cont.

4
February 2010
www.artsmagazine.info
Magazine
Students. . . Continued from page 3
Rachel Johnson plays fiddle with the
Dixie Bee-Liners and travels nationwide.
What she remembers most is how Bandy
Brownlee promoted having a positive attitude.
becoming a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and
Middle Childhood Music.”
• Rachel Johnson has been thrilling audiences in our
region and around the world with her fiddle work. She stays
busy traveling and performing — with The Booher Family,
then The Stevens Family, and most recently, The Dixie
Bee-Liners — but she still loves to grab her fiddle and bow
and “join in” on a jam session every time she gets a chance.
She attended East Tennessee State University and was a
member of the ETSU Pride Band, and recently graduated
from Northeast State Community College in Blountville,
Tenn. She says, “I learned a lot of things from Bandy
that I took to college.” Besides music theory, what she
remembers most is how Brownlee promoted having a
positive attitude: “No matter how early we rehearsed
(sometimes at 6:30 in the morning), he showed up
smiling. He always looked on the bright side of things.”
• William MacMorran is probably my stand-out for
musical and engineering achievement, but is probably best
known for playing the Highland bagpipes. Will, now based in
Nashville, Tenn., says, “Mr. B. is one of the hardest-working,
most dedicated teachers that I have ever been fortunate
enough to learn from. He helped to spark my interest in
recording and provided much advice and insight throughout
my time at Tennessee High. He provided me with
opportunities to gain experience both on the playing as well
as the engineering side of things. I’m graduating from
Belmont University in May with a Bachelor of Science in
Audio Engineering Technology. At Belmont, I’ve interned for
New Millennium Music and ‘Big’ Studios. In addition, for the
past four years, I’ve toured during the summers and most
weekends with the Celtic rock band Seven Nations and plan
to pursue that full time when
I graduate.”
• In addition, several
of Brownlee’s students have
gone on to study and work
in the audio engineering
business. They include
Chris and Matt Newton,
who studied engineering
at Middle Tennessee State
University and have done
quite a bit of recording
with their own rigs, and
Wes Leonard, who has
worked in the audio and
video business.
• Editor’s Note:
Brownlee also inspired
his own daughter,
Addie Brownlee, who is
a singer/songwriter/actor
in New York. Addie was
featured on the cover of A!
Magazine, September 2006
(search “Addie Brownlee” at
www.artsmagazine.info).
Kyle Buckland is a
plein air landscape
painter in Abingdon,
Va. He describes
Heidi McElroy as “a very
inspiring teacher whose
ability to ‘think outside
the box’...was a great
asset to my early
education as an artist.”
William MacMorran
now based in
Nashville, Tenn., tours
with the Celtic rock
band Seven Nations.
He credits Bandy
Brownlee with helping
to spark his interest
in recording and giving
him “opportunities to
gain experience both
on the playing as well
as the engineering
side of things.”
Heidi McElroy: I am very proud of the many students
who have passed through the program here at Abingdon
High School over the last 17 years. Some are art professors
and teachers, studio artists, and commercial artists. Many
have gained a deeper appreciation for the arts and have
enriched their lives through the arts. I am pleased when
my students tell me of the things they noticed and did
because of their exposure here at AHS.
• Joe Blackwell has a master’s in painting and is
seeking work as an art instructor at the college level.
• Kyle Buckland is a plein air landscape painter who
has a studio in Abingdon, where his father operates Blue
Windmill Galleries. He has worked with oils since he was 16,
stretching and priming his canvases and hauling his gear
into fields and woods to capture something new. Now
age 25, Kyle figures he has completed more than 1,000
paintings of the Appalachian landscape, many now in
private and public collections across the country. Kyle says,
“Mrs. McElroy is a very inspiring teacher whose ability
to ‘think outside the box’ when planning her lessons was
a great asset to my early education as an artist. Often
her teaching extended outside of the 50 minutes allotted
for our class. She encouraged us to bring in work we did
outside her class and never hesitated to give extra pointers
on how to improve not only our skills needed for creating
art, but also the importance of self-promotion and
communication needed to market our work.”
www.kylebuckland.blogspot.com,
www.bluewindmillgalleries.com
• Leila Cartier graduated in May 2009 from The
School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Ill. Her paintings
have been described as “provocative, large-scale, lavishlycolored and wildly-brushed.” She says her most recent
work “occupies a space between photography and painting
to emphasize the blur between what is believed to be real
and unreal.” Her artwork has been exhibited nationwide,
including a “Wide-Eyed Garden” show at the William King
Museum in Abingdon (February-June, 2009), and may
be found in local galleries such as the Blue Windmill in
Abingdon. Leila remembers McElroy as “very committed
to the arts. She encouraged us to apply for things outside
of school and displayed our art inside the school… When
discussing Art History, Mrs. McElroy also introduced
us to contemporary and modern art, so we could see
what’s being done currently to apply to our own projects.”
www.leilacartier.com
• Peter Morgan currently has an installation of
his work at The Arts Depot in Abingdon (see page 21).
He is an adjunct assistant professor in ceramics and
drawing at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Since
receiving his MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University in
2005, Peter has lectured and exhibited both nationally
and internationally.